Another villager, In Boy, 65, said the local community banded together and called on the authorities to supply electricity some time ago, but he too has resorted to solar power for his basic needs as no response was forthcoming.

“Since I have been waiting for electricity for so long, I decided to buy solar power to use,” he said. “It’s so boring when there’s no electricity. I don’t know what to say. Other residents in other areas have it.”

Many here still use batteries, candles and lamps. Chhim Chhaiya, 32, a garment worker, cannot afford to buy a solar panel, adding that she often uses a flashlight to cook after dark.

“I long for electricity as soon as possible. I will be very happy to have lights in my home,” she said.

Chan Sarun, Bati commune chief, said he was not responsible for the lack of power. “I don’t know why there is no electricity. I want it too.”

A new $12.5 million solar farm being build by Singaporean firm Sunseap International in Bavet city expected to be finished in August may go some way to alleviating the villagers’ concerns.

Kelvin Ang, project manager at Sunseap, said the 10 megawatts produced by the plant would “help improve the energy shortage in all areas covered” by the national electricity authority, Electricite du Cambodge (EdC).